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I have read what the book is about and I am loving this plot, was there an activity that you were doing and it just hit you for this book, or was it a wake in the middle of the night with an idea kind of story?

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Thank you! It has been a very exciting experience. To be honest, the storyline was developed as I wrote. It wasn’t something that I sat down and knew A to Z where it was going. But, when I write, ideas tend to come really fast once I’m in the mode. As a matter of fact, one of my largest frustrations of being an author is getting the words down on paper fast enough. My mind is usually a few chapters ahead and it’s like I can’t keep up! However, I am typically a wake up in the middle of the night (3-4:00 am usually) kind of girl with ideas. What did come to me, always in the wee hours of the morning, was the ambiance of the novel. It was more of a sense of looming, and a sense of what the characters would feel. Not so much what happened in the book, but the allegorical contexts of the book. In other words, I knew Magdalena was going to be soul searching and looking for her life purpose.

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Are your characters based off anyone in your life?

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To my knowledge, no, and I answer it that way because I think often times our thoughts and actions are influenced by those around us, whether we realize it or not. So, my intention wasn’t to build one of my characters around anyone specifically that I knew, or had encountered. In general, Hubert is hilarious to me. I love his sense of humor. I knew I wanted one character that would speak what everyone else would be thinking. I often feel when you have a close-knit friend group, there is always that one person that just speaks their mind. And, even if you think, wow, I can’t believe they said it instead of thinking it, often you can see why they said it! So, Hubert is the jovial speak his mind kind of guy. Gabriel is the sweet boy that cares deeply for others. I think we have all known someone in our lifetime that is just a genuine and caring person. You can’t help but to love him and his mannerisms.

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Is there a character in your book that you relate to the most?

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Magdalena, if I’m honest, is who I would identify with the most. Not the highly intelligent part, I don’t mean that. I mean her soul-searching characteristics. She goes way beyond the every-day thought processes that her friends do. They are happy getting up each day and just being children. Magdalena is searching for and seeking something more. She has this draw to her soul that she should be doing something else. I have often felt that way in my own life and I know exactly what it feels like. Maybe that is why I wrote the book! Who knows, ha ha! But, having that deep need of discovering your true purpose in life is something I think many people can relate to. Especially, at least for me, in those teen to young adult years.

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Have you always written this kind of genre or is there one you feel most comfortable with? What genre would you say would be the hardest for you to write?

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Writing for me is about taking an idea, any idea, and just running with it. I approach it almost like a challenge and I love a challenge. I just entered a literary writing contest for flash fiction. It was so much fun. I could only use ten words. TEN WORDS! And, I had to create a story in those ten words. I was thrilled with the results and I would tell you but I am still waiting on the contest to close, so I can’t publish / release it just yet. But, that is me. So, when it comes to genre, I’m fairly comfortable with fantasy fiction, mystery, romance, and light horror (very light). The hardest genre for me to write, though, would have to be erotica. I just don’t think I could it.

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Many say that a book can tell you a lot about a writer, what does your book say about you?

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Great question! Well, I will always be a child at heart when it comes to adventure and magic. Every time I take my daughters to Disneyland / World and we walk into the park, this sense of excitement, intrigue, and happiness takes over. You should have seen myself and two oldest daughters when we visited the Harry Potter section at Universal Studios in Hollywood. I’m really not sure who was more excited, them or me! That feeling is something that just comes naturally when you find yourself in an awe-inspiring moment. I believe this book tells that tale for most of us, me included. Everyone longs for that sense of purpose, that sense of magic, that world view that there is something more out there and it is so exciting! I’m a dreamer. Always have been, always will be. And, capturing that sense of child-like hope is something that inspires me to write. I hope my readers get this feeling from the book. I hope they embrace Lily Brooke with a sense of wonder, a sense of magic, and sense of humanity, all together in one experience.

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If you could say anything in the world to your readers what would you tell them?

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Absolutely, beyond the shadow of a doubt, I would tell them the old cliché, “NEVER LET ANYONE DULL YOUR SPARKLE!” Yes, it has been around a long time. Nope, I didn’t come up with it. Yes, I tell my children this all the time and I believe in the profound message behind it. Be who YOU are, not your parents, not your friends, not your peer group. Be who God created YOU to be. Live your life in the most fulfilling way you know how and truly enjoy the moments. There will be good times, tough times, and even sad times. But, when you look back on your life, as though it were a book, make sure the overall theme is happiness. We don’t get a re-do, so embrace who you are, and sparkle my friends!

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Can you tell us something that not many people know about you? (Just to get to know the author a bit better)

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My mother passed away right after I turned thirty. I was beyond devastated as in my young adult years, we had grown very close. At the time, my oldest daughter was four, my youngest daughter was eleven months old. I had lived within a mile or two from my parents when my two oldest children were babies, but my husband and I had just moved eleven hours’ drive time away for his employment. I felt as though my life was swept up in some kind of nightmare whirlwind and within a matter of months, my life as I had always known it, changed. There were some dark days as I just didn’t understand it. But, I learned from it, and it changed how I view life in general. I am very much a spur of the moment, let’s go, live on the edge of my seat girl. I don’t like heavy schedules (even though I think I am truly never home), and I view life as a gift. I look at each day as a blessing and am truly thankful for my family and friends. It may creep up into my writings, my readers would be a better judge of that than me. But, the advice I give my children, is the advice I try to live.

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Thank you so much for the opportunity to be with you today! I have enjoyed it

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About the Book

Title: Magdalena Gottschalk: The Crooked Trail

Author: M. Gail Grant

Genre: YA Fantasy

The enchanted secret of Lily Brooke was safe and sound, until Magdalena and her thirteen-year-old friends accidentally unleashed the revengeful demons of the past. How were they supposed to know that a friendly expedition in the woods on a stress-free Saturday morning would lead to the most intense and scary moments of their lives? So many mysterious happenings have occurred ever since they found that crooked trail leading to the sacrificial cave, and hidden monstrosity of a treehouse. With the chanting voices and shrill noises that only Magdalena could hear, the friends decide there is something sinister living amongst them. Time is of the essence to save Lily Brooke and their childhood club, the Mystical Alliance of Lily Brooke, knows it is up to them to capture the demons hiding in their community and set the town free. Witches, wizards, and some black magic may just be what it takes for Magdalena and her best friends to save the day.

Author Bio

Melinda Gail resides in Canton, Georgia with her three daughters, husband of over twenty years, and two adorable fur babies. Surrounded by the north Georgia mountains, the scenery provides for inspirational settings for her novels. Being raised in the south, she brings a little southern flair and tradition to her characters, all the while remembering the adventurous nature of middle grades to young adult age children. With a passion for the extraordinary and imagination, Melinda hopes you enter a world of fantasy as you see life through the eyes of the characters.

Writing has always been her underlying passion in life. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, and a minor in Sociology, she felt understanding and studying human behavior on the individual and collective level, would apply to anything and everything chosen to do in life. Identified as being a strong writer for her age at the time, she attended a summer literary writer’s camp around age twelve. She flourished and loved every moment of the experience and it has stayed with her throughout adulthood.

The desire to write has always been an integral part of who Melinda is, and about eight months ago she decided it was time. Having always been an avid reader of topics from intense young adult fantasy and thrillers, to light hearted summer romances, she chose juvenile to young adult ages for her book. In middle school summers, she would stay up to the wee hours of the morning reading because she just couldn’t put the book down. This basic idea, not being able to put a book down, is the principal she built on while writing Magdalen Gottschalk: The Crooked Trail. It has moments of ease, moments of intensity, moments of humor, striving to offer some of her own personality in her writings. There is a time for sweetness, a time for seriousness, and always a time for kindness and life lessons. Her style isn’t made up. It is simply who she is, on paper.

Links

For author signed paperback and hardcover editions: http://www.MelindaGailBooks.com